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1992 Juvenile Arrests -- FBI Uniform Crime Reports Data.

Law enforcement agencies in 1992 made 2.3 million

arrests of persons below the age of 18.

According to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program, these

juveniles were responsible for 16% of all arrests in 1992. 

Juveniles were involved in 15% of murder arrests, 16% of

forcible rape, 26% of robbery, 15% of aggravated assault, 34% of

burglary, 44% of motor vehicle theft, 23% of weapon, and 23%

of drug law violation arrests.

Thirty-six percent of juvenile arrests involved a youth below the

age of 15. These young juveniles were involved in 11% of all

juvenile murder arrests, 38% of forcible rape, 28% of robbery,

32% of aggravated assault, 41% of burglary, 45% of larceny-thefts, 

29% of motor vehicle theft, 45% of runaway, 30% of

weapon, and 15% of drug law violation arrests.

In 1992 females were involved in 23% of all juvenile arrests. 

Females were charged in 6% of juvenile murder arrests, 7% of

weapon, 9% of robbery, 11% of drug, 12% of motor vehicle theft,

14% of DUI, 16% of aggravated assault, 27% of curfew violation,

29% of liquor law violation, 29% of larceny-theft, 52% of

prostitution, and 57% of runaway arrests.

In 1992, 80% of the U.S. population below the age of 18 was

white, 15% was black, 1% was Native American, and 3% was

Asian/Pacific Islanders. Overall, whites were involved 70% of all

juvenile arrests in 1992, blacks in 27%, Native Americans in 1%,

and Asian/Pacific Islanders in 2%. More specifically, white

juveniles were involved in 41% of murder arrests, 52% of

forcible rape, 38% of robbery, 56% of aggravated assault, 75% of

burglary, 73% of larceny-theft, 58% of motor vehicle theft, 92%

of DUI, 92% of liquor law violation, 62% of weapon, and 52% of

drug arrests.

While this fact sheet uses the term juvenile in its common

connotation to mean all persons below the age of 18, States vary

in their legal classification of a juvenile. In Illinois and Texas, for

example, a juvenile is legally defined as all persons below the age

of 17. Using each State's legal definition, the FBI reported that

62% of legally-defined juveniles arrested in 1992 were referred

to juvenile court, 5% to a criminal or adult court, 2% to a welfare

agency, and 1% to another police agency. The remaining 30% of

arrested juveniles were handled within the police department and

released.

Juvenile arrests grew at a greater rate than adult arrests

Between 1988 and 1992, the total number of juvenile arrests

increased by 11%, compared to a 6% increase for adults. To

monitor the characteristics of violent crime in the U.S., the FBI's

Uniform Crime Reporting Program created the Violent Crime

Index. This index is a combination of four offenses murder,

forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Based on this

index, the juvenile arrests for a violent crime between 1988 and

1992 increased by 47%, while adult violent crime arrests

increased by 19%. There were substantial differences in each of

the four components of the Violent Crime Index. 

Over the five-year period from 1988 to 1992, the number of juvenile murder

arrests increased by 51%, compared to a 9% increase in the

number of adult arrests for murder. The number of juvenile

arrests for forcible rape increased by 17%, while adult arrests

increased by only 3%. Juvenile robbery arrests increased by 50%
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compared to a 13% increase for adults, while the juvenile

increase in aggravated assault arrests was more than double the

adult increase (49% versus 23%). 

The juvenile increase was greater than the adult increase in other

crime categories: weapon law violations (66% versus 13%),

motor vehicle theft (12% versus -5%), simple assault (49% versus

26%), and disorderly conduct (24% versus 1%). Between 1988

and 1992 the number of juvenile arrests for running away

increased by 13%.

Arrests of Persons Under Age 18, 1992 

 

 Estimated

 Juvenile

 Female

 

 Number of

 Proportion 

 Proportion of

 Percent Change

 

 Offense

 Arrests

 of All Arrests

 Juvenile Arrests

 1991-1992

 1988-1992

 1983-1992

 

 Total

 2,296,000

 16%

 23%

 3%

 11%

 17%

 

 Crime Index totala

 839,400

 29

 21
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 1

 12

 16

 

 Violent Crime Indexb

 129,600

 18

 13

 5

 47

 57

 

 Property Crime Indexc

 709,800

 33

 23

 0

 8

 11

 

 Murder

 3,300

 15

 6

 0

 51

 128

 

 Forcible rape

 6,300

 16

 2

 2

 17

 25

 

 Robbery

 45,700

 26

 9

 1

 50

 22

 

 Aggravated assault

 74,400

 15
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 16

 8

 49

 95

 

 Burglary

 144,500

 34

 9

 -1

 1

 -20

 

 Larceny-theft

 468,200

 31

 29

 0

 8

 13

 

 Motor vehicle theft

 87,500

 44

 12

 -4

 12

 120

 

 Arson

 9,700

 49

 11

 8

 25

 26

 

 Other assaults

 169,400

 16

 24

 9

 49

 106

 

 Forgery and counterfeiting

 8,400
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 8

 35

 -3

 5

 9

 

 Fraud

 18,400

 4

 26

 10

 -2

 -41

 

 Embezzlement

 800

 6

 45

 3

 -38

 35

 

 Stolen property

 42,900

 27

 11

 -4

 6

 39

 

 Vandalism

 145,300

 45

 9

 5

 28

 34

 

 Weapons

 54,200

 23

 7

 16

 66

 117

 

 Prostitution and vice
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 1,200

 1

 52

 -8

 -27

 -54

 

 Other sex offense

 19,700

 18

 7

 10

 28

 41

 

 Drug abuse violations

 85,700

 8

 11

 14

 -10

 7

 

 Gambling

 1,200

 7

 7

 15

 52

 25

 

 Offenses against family & children

 5,100

 5

 35

 27

 53

 212

 

 Driving under the inflence

 14,700

 1

 14

 -19

 -37

 -52

 
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 Liquor laws

 119,200

 22

 29

 -12

 -24

 -12

 

 Drunkness

 18,900

 2

 16

 -14

 -26

 -47

 

 Disorderly conduct

 136,500

 18

 22

 6

 24

 35

 

 Vagrancy

 4,100

 12

 15

 57

 38

 36

 

 All other offenses (except traffic)

 338,500

 10

 21

 6

 11

 3

 

 Curfew & loitering

 91,100

 100

 27

 1

 -5

 9

 
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 Runaways

 181,300

 100

 57

 4

 13

 31

 

a. Crime Index is the combination of the Violent Crime Index and the 

 Property Crime Index.

b. Violent Crime Index is the combination of the offenses of murder, 

 forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.

c. Property Crime Index is the combination of the offenses of burglary, 

 larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson.

 

 Data Source: FBI, Crime in the United States 1992.

 

 

This fact sheet was prepared by Howard N. Snyder, National Center for

Juvenile Justice. Data were taken from the FBI's Crime in the U.S. 1992. 

The material was developed for the forthcoming National Report on

Juvenile Offending and Victimization, a product of the Juvenile Justice

Statistics and Systems Development Program funded by OJJDP through

grant #90-JN-CX-K003. Barbara Allen-Hagen, Social Science Analyst

in OJJDP's Research and Program Development Division, served as

Program Monitor.

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